


Beloved

by eerian_sadow



Series: Avalon [4]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers Generation One
Genre: F/M, Long term illness, Pre-War, bring all your tissues, creating new civilization, post-quintesson rebellion, quintesson rebellion
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-04-15
Updated: 2012-04-15
Packaged: 2018-02-12 18:08:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,156
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2119674
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eerian_sadow/pseuds/eerian_sadow
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the Quintesson War, the newly freed Cybertronians are beginning to build their own world.  Unfortunately, not everyone can enjoy life after slavery.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Beloved

**Author's Note:**

> written for the April 8, 2012 weekly request round at tf_rare_pairing. Like many other parts of the Avalon AU, it’s written out of order, with the ending first. There are events mentioned briefly here that I’ll go into more in-depth in other stories in the ‘verse. You are, however, welcome to ask for any points of clarification on any bits of the story.

Title: Beloved  
Universe: G1, Avalon AU  
Rating: PG  
Characters/Pairing: Alpha Trion/Beta, M4 (Original Character)  
Content Advisory: Character Death, het, angst  
Prompt: Alpha Trion/Beta: for better or worse, no matter the ending  
Notes: written for the April 8, 2012 weekly request round at tf_rare_pairing. Like many other parts of the Avalon AU, it’s written out of order, with the ending first. There are events mentioned briefly here that I’ll go into more in-depth in other stories in the ‘verse. You are, however, welcome to ask for any points of clarification on any bits of the story.

  
Alpha Trion settled into the chair next to the berth that held the frail form of his beloved’s frame. Beta reached for him, lacing her fingers with his and smiling softly at him.

“I feel better, today. M4 thinks that the newest code patch is helping.”

“Good.” He lifted her hand to his face and kissed her fingers. “I can’t wait to show you the world our people are building.”

“I want to see it.” Beta’s smile grew. “I want to see everything we fought so hard to win back.”

Trion couldn’t help but smile back. She had taken up his cause so bravely and willingly, even though she had been created under the rule of the Quintessons. Never once had she questioned that Cybertron rightfully belonged to the enslaved race; she simply believed the older mechs and fought to bring all Cybertronians the freedom that Alpha Trion had told stories about.

“You will, beloved. Once we have the errors in your coding fixed, you’ll see everything.”

“I can’t wait.” The femme’s smile didn’t waver, but her grip on Alpha Trion’s hand loosened and her optic shutters drifted shut. “I’m tired, A3. Stay with me til I’m in recharge?”

“Of course I will.” He squeezed her hand gently, careful not to damage already brittle metal. “I’ll stay as long as you need me.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

He was still sitting at her bedside, their fingers laced together, when the medic came in joors later. Beta didn’t stir as the young mech plugged into a data port and checked her vitals.

“How is she?” Alpha Trion asked softly. “Tell me truly.”

“She’s…” M4 unplugged his data cable and shook his head. “The latest coding patch is already being broken down by the virus. What little ability her self-repair would have regained will be disrupted again soon. I’m sorry, sir. She’s dying and there isn’t anything left for us to try.”

The older mech nodded sadly. “I had suspected as much. She deserved so much more than this.”

“Yes, sir.”

“How long do you estimate she has left?”

The young medic frowned. “It’s hard to say with certainty, but no more than a deca-cycle.”

His spark ached at M4’s pronouncement. Beta had been given no chance at all to enjoy the freedom she had fought so hard to win. Her former master had robbed her of everything he had tried to give her.

“I want to take her from here, M4. If she is to die, I want it to be surrounded by beauty. It is… that last thing I can give her.”

The medic rested a hand on Alpha Trion’s shoulder, attempting to give what comfort he could. “I understand, sir. I’ll make the arrangements.”

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

There was a place to the north of the capital city where a small group of mechs and femmes were gathering to start a new city, dedicated to the pursuit of art and music--things the Quintessons had routinely denied them. It was tranquil there, and M4 had recommended a medic who had taken up residence there to help ease Beta’s last few cycles.

Given the circumstances, it was the best Alpha Trion could do for her.

“They’re singing,” she said with a smile, when they exited the transport that had carried them to the infant city.

“They are,” he confirmed, sweeping her up into his arms and carrying her into the building that would be their living quarters for as long as they were in the city.

“It’s lovely.” Despite the weakness of her voice, Beta’s tone was clearly pleased. “Can we leave a window open to listen?”

“Of course.” There was nothing he would deny her, even before the virus stripped her self repair system of its ability to maintain her functions. “Perhaps I can encourage them to practice nearer, so that you may hear them better.”

“Thank you.” She cuddled against his chest plates, content to listen and be held.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

Their days in the new city were spent mostly the same way. Alpha Trion would wake far earlier than his mate and spent the earliest part of the day catching up on news, communications from resistance cell leaders who had become community leaders and updating M4 on Beta's condition. She would usually wake sometime near the end of his call to M4 and he would carefully help her fuel and then hold her as recharge claimed her again, to give her body time to process the fuel. While she rested, Hardwire would visit and check on her vital signs and offer any advice he had for additional care. When she woke again in the later part of the cycle, Alpha Trion would carry her outside, so that Beta could bask in light and sound of the thriving city.

Her deterioration wasn't rapid, but it was steady. She did, however, live longer than the deca-cycle M4 projected. Alpha Trion was grateful for that, and treated each additional day with her as the treasure it was--no matter how hard it was getting to see her in recharge for longer and longer stretches of time.

Their favorite place to sit in the late hours of the cycle was the crystal garden a small group of residents had cultivated near the center of the city. Beta loved the way the lights sparkled off the crystals, and many of the city's singers came to practice or perform in the garden which always made her smile.

"Promise me," she said while they listened to a small ensemble practice, "That you will still remember the beauty of this place when I’m gone."

It was the first time she had ever openly acknowledged how short her remaining time was.

"I won't forget," Trion promised.

-_-_-_-_-_-_-_-

They were in the crystal garden when her spark went out. Alpha Trion was holding her close, crooning an old, old lullaby that was contained in one of his first memories and Beta was smiling at him when it happened. There was no pain that he could ever remember seeing, only a moment where her processor realized what had happened and her optics flickered with shock.

Her smile never faltered, even as she used the last bit of residual energy in her system to whisper. "Beloved."

Alpha Trion wished his own spark would go out as she turned ash grey in his arms.


End file.
